Israel's coronavirus cabinet will consider removing some restrictions associated with the Green Pass when it convenes on Wednesday due to declining morbidity rates as the country appears to be exiting the fourth wave of the pandemic.
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The number of patients hospitalized in serious condition due to the coronavirus dropped below 500 Tuesday for the first time in nearly two months, standing at 489, the lowest since August 13.
Since midnight Tuesday, 1,678 new COVID cases were confirmed, with active infections standing at 36,037, updated Health Ministry figures showed.
There have been 1,296,125 verified infections since the pandemic began and 7,853 deaths.
According to the Health Ministry, 6,153,823 people in Israel have received at least one vaccine dose and 5,662,909 have gotten two shots. Another 3,606,065 – close to 40% of the population – have been administered a third dose.
Ministers will consider lifting the Green Pass requirement for certain outdoor events and providing more leniency for outdoor dining at restaurants and at indoor pools.
The coronavirus cabinet will also look at restrictions for indoor events.
Health Minister Director-General Nachman Ash on Wednesday said he was optimistic about the continuing reduction in COVID-19 morbidity in the country.
"The decline is clear. If we feared it was just a matter of the [High] Holidays [making the numbers look low due to less testing], then today we can say that the trend is unequivocal. Now, we want to see the impact of reopening schools," Ash told 103 FM radio.
"If we see next week that the trend continues, then yes, we are coming out of this wave," he added.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, meanwhile, said Wednesday that he wants schoolkids in cities with low rates of infection to be exempt from quarantine after coming in contact with confirmed virus cases, and instead to conduct testing in classes.
Bennett said that with the government's "rethinking, and with our navigation of the fourth wave," the move should begin by next week.
"I want to give peace of mind to the parents who will be able to go to work and send their children to school, and end the era of uncertainty," Bennett told a team of experts involved in advising government COVID policy.
On Saturday Ash said the coronavirus cabinet would not be considering imposing any new restrictions in light of encouraging numbers.
New coronavirus rules went into effect on Sunday that invalidates the Green Pass for nearly two million Israelis jabbed with two vaccine doses but who have not yet received the booster shot.
However, the Health Ministry announced on Sunday morning that the old Green Pass will still work "in the coming days" – until Thursday – due to an overload in the issuance of the new vaccine certificates showing all three jabs.
Meanwhile, a large Canadian study released Tuesday suggested that the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus causes more serious disease and is associated with an increased risk of death compared to previous strains – dangers that are drastically reduced with vaccination.
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The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto and published Tuesday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, analyzed more than 212,000 cases of COVID-19 reported in Ontario between Feb. 7 and June 27.
They found that those infected with the Alpha variant, which drove Ontario's third wave in the early spring, or the Beta or Gamma variants were 52% more likely to be hospitalized, 89% more likely to need intensive care and 51% more likely to die of the infection than those who caught the early 2020 version of the virus.
Among Delta cases, they found a 108% increased risk for hospitalization, 235% increased risk for ICU admission and 133% increased risk for death compared to the original virus strain.
